Photo by Brad Rochford
Louie and The Flashbombs
Louie and The Flashbombs: Louie Lucchesi, Matt Meixner, Bo Conlon, Mike Benign, Al Hildenbrand, Paul Biemann
The rumors were bad, and the reality was worse. In September 2020, Louie Lucchesi was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer, and it was spreading rapidly. Fifteen years ago, his condition would have been fatal, but thanks to medical advances, the singer is recovering and fronting Louie and The Flashbombs, his first band in many years.
The Flashbombs began as an entirely remote collaboration—COVID concerns in mind—between Lucchesi and Mike Benign. “He just unloaded a torrent of lyrics,” Benign says. “There’s no substitute to lyrics grounded in something real and he was writing from a very real place. The fight for life was pouring out of him.”
“The first thing I wrote was ‘I’m So Glad I Didn’t Go Away,’” Lucchesi says, “I was hedging my bets! Citing Bruce Springsteen’s post-911 album The Rising as inspiration, he adds, “I didn’t want my songs to be depressing, I didn’t want them to be sappy positive—I wanted them to have a hopeful perspective, uplifting songs that deal with serious subjects. I call what we do a ‘Subgenre: Gray pop music by mature musicians for a mature audience on mature themes.’”
A strong-voiced singer and dynamic performer, Lucchesi recorded an excellent rock album early this century, Second-Hand Smoke, and a Jeff Hamilton-produced version of David Bowie’s “This is Not America” in January 2020. “And then the country shut down and we did not get a band together,” Lucchesi recalls.
Benign has been active this century with his band and prolific recording act, The Mike Benign Compulsion, finally calling quits on the group last year. He had also collaborated for 10 years with Lucchesi on the annual Pablove benefit for children’s cancer. Benign calls joining a band with Lucchesi as a “surprise. I was in no hurry to be in a band again but when Louie asked me, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. I always wanted to not be the lead singer.” It’s also the first time that Benign isn’t writing the words. He’s been known for his sophisticated school of Crowded House-Elvis Costello lyrics since the ‘80s and ‘90s with bands such as Arms & Legs & Feet and Blue in the Face.
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For The Flashbombs, Lucchesi and Benign chose musicians they knew well, including drummer Bo Conlon, bassist Paul Biemann, guitarist Al Hildenbrand and keyboardist Matt Meixner. With a repertoire of two dozen new songs, the Flashbombs will perform nothing from Lucchesi or Benign’s past bands. Their sound echoes diverse sources from the British Invasion through the New York Dolls and power pop.
The science that saved Lucchesi’s life included such remarkable advances as targeted chemotherapy delivered in pill form. “I lost weight and I lost muscle tone, including my vocal cords,” he says. “I’m seeing a voice therapist and am building my voice back up from nothing.”
Louie and The Flashbombs will debut on May 6 at Linnemann’s Riverwest Inn with Liv Mueller opening the show.
